NNSL (Mar 25/98) - Yellowknife city council has put the $2,790,000 in black and white. The question is now whether city ratepayers will grant permission to borrow the money for a twin-pad arena, a youth centre and a gymnastics club?

A bylaw authorizing a plebiscite on the question passed first reading despite a protest from Ald. Cheryl Best over including all three projects in the one question to the public.

"Three questions. Three prices. Three projects," she said, adding that each should be evaluated on its own merit.

The arena loan amounts to $2,500,000, while the youth centre weighs in at $150,000 and the gymnastics club at $140,000. The loan is to be repaid over a 20-year period.

A debenture plebiscite has been scheduled for April 15.

Ald. Bob Brooks said the projects have been discussed as a package deal all along and should therefore be voted on as a package.

But Ald. Kevin O'Reilly said he wants it to be clear that Monday night was only the first reading of the debenture bylaw and it can now be assessed by ratepayers. After a presentation by former mayoral candidate Matthew Grogono, who implored council to provide property owners with more information, it was revealed that an information brochure on the arena project will be delivered to mailboxes next week. The brochure will also be distributed to public centres. Grogono said the Property Owners Association would like to be presented with the same information package that the councillors are privy to.

A public survey, dating back to 1994 showed that only 28 per cent of residents were demanding more ice time, he said, a copy of the survey in hand.

As well, a number of questions have been asked about the state of the Gerry Murphy Arena, but few have been answered, said Grogono.

"The reason I dwell on the Gerry Murphy Arena is that it's pivotal in many people's minds as to where the city should go in the near future," he said. "If the Gerry Murphy Arena has got options, what are they? And who came up with the evaluations? Where are they?"

Grogono added that the Property Owners Association is opposed to rolling the arena, youth centre and gymnastics club questions all into one.